Catalogue of Canterbury Art Exhibition, 1870

The first recorded exhibition of art in Canterbury, held at the Canterbury Museum in 1870

The success of New Zealand's first fine arts exhibition in Otago, encouraged various Canterbury residents to call for a similar event in Christchurch. A committee was formed, a prospectus issued and a venue found: the recently completed but as yet unoccupied Canterbury Museum. The fine art exhibition was duly opened on 9 February 1870 by Provincial Superintendent William Rolleston.